Carbonaceous fuel



G. EGLOFF ET AL CARBONACEOUS FUEL Original Filed Nov. 1,

\w wmvw Patented Dec. 2, 1924..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV EGLOFF AND HARRY 1?. BENNER. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO UNIVERSAL OIL PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.-

CARBONACEOUS FUEL.

Application filed November 1, 1920, Serial No. 420,882. Renewed May 5, 1924.

To all wiwm it may concern:

Be it known that we, GUSTAV Ecnorr and HARRY P. BENNER, both citizens of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in carbonaceous Fuel, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in carbonaceous fuel and refers more particularly to an oil saturated carbonproduced by the cracking of heavy petroleum oils such as fuel oil, Mexican or California crudes, bottom settlings or the like.

In the cracking of heavy fuel oils, much pitchy carbon is precipitated which is suitable for use as fuel. In the cracking of, for example, Wayside fuel oil, on a commercial scale in the manner hereinafter described, 6925 gallons of said fuel oil produced 2300 pounds of oil soaked pitchy carbon which can be used as a fuel, either for heating the cracking apparatus or boiler or for any other useful fuel purposes. The production of this pitchy carbon is a large economical item in the crackingof heavy oils, such as asphaltic oils ,of high carbon forming properties.

'As an illustration, a plant cracking 3000 barrels of fuel oil from the Kansas Wayside 13 field would produce approximately 20 tons Wet carbon a day. In cracking heavy crude etroleums such as heavy Mexican crude j rom the Penuco field, over 40 tons a day of wet *carbon would be produced by the cracking of 3000 barrels a day. To illustrate the immensity of this carbon production, consider the following: The shipment of petroleum oil from the Penuco field was over a million barrels for the week ending August 28, 1920. If this amount of Penuco crudewas cracked and it certainly will be desirable to crack it, there would be produced as a maximum 17,000 tons of carbon per week. This carbon might be Worth from $5.00 to $10.00 a ton. If desired, this wet carbonaceous fuel can be used in lump form either in the same manner by stoker or hand firing or it may be pulverized and used much the same as fuel oil with steam or a blower.

To more 'fblearly illustrate the manner of producing this carbonaceous fuel, reference ma be had to the accompanying drawing in which the single figure represents a new partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section of an apparatus in which the process may be carried out.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 1 designates the furnace having burner 2, stack 3, and combustion chamber 4. In the combustion chamber is mounted the heating coil 5 which may for example be from 20" to 40 tubes, each 20 feet long, and connected in series. The inlet side of the coil or heating element is connected to a feed pump 6 by charging line 7 having throttle valve 8. The raw fuel oil is fed to the coil through the pipe 9 having throttle valve 10 leading to any suitable source of supply. The discharge side of the coil is connected by transfer line 11 having throttle valve 12 to a vapor or expansion chamber 13. This expansion chamber 13 is of relatively large size. A plurality of these expansion chambers may be used and so connected that one may be cut out to be cleaned and the other out into the system to use. This is not shown for the reason that we are not here claiming the apparatus. Each expansion chamber is provided with a residue drawofi pipe 14 having throttle valve 15 leading to any suitable storage receptacle. The member 13 is provided with a pressure gauge 16, vapor outlet pipe 17 having throttle valve 18 and leading to dephlegmator 19. The upper end of the dephlegmator is connected by vapor line 20 having throttle valve 21 to condenser coil 22 seated in condenser box 23. The lower end of the coil is connected by pipe 24 through throttle valve 25 into receiver 26. This receiver 26 has a pressure gauge 27, liquid level gauge 28, liquid drawoff 29 having throttle valve 30 and gas outlet pipe 31 having throttle valve 32.

The process may be operated as follows: Fuel oil, as for example, from the \Vayside field, having say, a Baum gravity of 23 degrees, or Mexican or California crude oil of from 12 to 18 degrees Baum gravity, may be fed. continuously through the heating coil, raised to a temperature of from 650 to 800 degrees F., and delivered in liquid phase to the expansion chamber or chambers. The

whole system may be maintained under a pressure of say, 100 to 150 pounds. Heavier vapors which enter the dephlegmator will be condensed and continuously returned as re- 'paratus of substantially flux condensate to the system. In the apthe principle shown in the drawings, Wayside fuel oil was cracked and produced an amount of wet pitchy carbon equal to that heretofore described. This wet pitchy carbon may be continuously or intermittently drawn out of the Vapor chamber or chambers where it collects and is ready to use as a carbonaceous fuel. As far as We are aware, no one has heretofore produced and utilized a wet pitchy carbon obtained from the cracking of a heavy petroleum tar or pitch for the purpose described. It may be noted that in the production of this carbonaceous fuel, from 50% or more of the original charge is converted into pressure distillate where it is'collected in the receiver 26, said pressure distillate having a gravity of 46 to 50 B.

lVe claim as our invention:

A. carbonaceous fuel composed of pitchy carbon Wet with a content of liquid oil residuum surrounding and incorporated with a solid carbonized residue resulting from the cracking of heavy mineral oils by heat and pressure, said fuel containing only such asmall amount of heavy liquid residue as to promote combustion while permitting the fuel to maintain a solid consistency and capable of being pulverized to provide a granular comminuted fuel of a non-fluid nature.

GUSTAV EGLOFF. HARRY P. BENNER. 

